ARE WE IN A NEW ERA?

There obviously is a clear method to this criminal madness. This is not routine. It is not the kind of usual ceasefire violation we’re used to seeing on the part of Baku. This is premeditated by high-level government policymakers in Turkey and Azerbaijan involving the deep state ordinance in each case.

Here’s the chain of events we need to consider. First it was Erdogan’s oblique threats targeting Armenia and the racist anti-Armenian “protests”in Beirut. Then came Aliyev’s angry statements attacking the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries (US, France, Russia) and the negotiating process. That was followed by Aliyev’s insistence on a military solution to the conflict. And bluntly threatening an imminent war against Armenia and waging it without wasting time. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry statement accusing Armenia was the logical next step. And, of course, we have the Turkish-style large-scale protests in Baku…

No two people can gather in Baku without being pursued by the Azerbaijani police. So, rest assured these protests are orchestrated by the regime.

All this means that the Turkish-Azerbaijani military initiative is far from being ended. Armenia and Artsakh should now expect — as I am sure they do — a full-fledged war sometime soon. Given the way the cards are stacked at this point in the regional arena, I’m afraid, for all intents and purposes, the OSCE peace process is dead. We are confronted with the criminal designs of the fascist regimes in Turkey and Azerbaijan which we simply cannot afford to ignore. We clearly are in a new era in the Caucasus.